Required Definitions Flashcards
Ecological footprint
The theoretical measurement of the amount of land and water a population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its waste under prevailing technology.
Global climate change
The changes in global patterns of rainfall and temperature, sea level, habitats and the incidences of droughts, floods and storms, resulting from changes in the Earth’s atmosphere, believed to be mainly caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect.
GNI
Gross national income (now used in preference to gross national product—GNP). The total value of goods and services produced within a country together with the balance of income and payments from or to other countries.
Migration
The movement of people, involving a change of residence. It can be internal or external (international) and voluntary or forced. It does not include temporary circulations such as commuting or tourism.
Remittances
Transfers of money/goods by foreign workers to their home countries.
In 2014, $436 billion went to developing countries, setting a new record. Overall global remittances also totaled $583 billion - compared to the total of $180 billion of international aid.
Soil degradation
A severe reduction in the quality of soils. The term includes soil erosion, salinization and soil exhaustion (loss of fertility).
Water scarcity
• physical water scarcity, where water resource development is approaching or has exceeded unsustainable levels; it relates water availability to water demand and implies that arid areas are not necessarily water scarce
or
• economic water scarcity, where water is available locally but not accessible for human, institutional or financial capital reasons.
sustainable development
Development that is future thinking and also good for future generations.
development (not needed but maybe useful)
Policies and practices undertaken to reduce poverty and inequalities, as well as state initiatives to modernise economies. Robert Chambers (1997) refers to development as “good change”. Development includes complex processes of political, economic, social and cultural change.
drainage basin
The area drained by a river and its tributaries.
drainage divide
Also known as a watershed, it is the line defining the boundary of a river or stream drainage basin separating it from adjacent basin(s).
maximum sustainable yield
The maximum level of extraction of water that can be maintained indefinitely for a given area.
wetlands
Areas that are regularly saturated by surface water or groundwater, including freshwater marshes, swamps and bogs.
carrying capacity (tourism)
The maximum number of visitors/participants that a site/event can satisfy at one time. It is customary to distinguish between ENVIRONMENTAL carrying capacity (the maximum number before the local environment becomes damaged) and PERCEPTUAL carrying capacity (the maximum number before a specific group of visitors considers the level of impact, such as noise, to be excessive).
primary tourist / recreational resources
vs. secondary tourists
The pre-existing attractions for tourism or recreation (that is, those not built specifically for the purpose), including climate, scenery, wildlife, indigenous people, cultural and heritage sites.
These are distinguished from secondary tourist/recreational resources, which include accommodation, catering, entertainment and shopping.
recreation
A leisure-time activity undertaken voluntarily and for enjoyment. It includes individual pursuits, organized outings and events, and non-paid (non-professional) sports.
resort
A settlement where the primary function is tourism.
sport
A physical activity involving a set of rules or customs. The activity may be competitive.
Brownfield site
Abandoned, derelict or under-used industrial buildings and land that may be contaminated but have potential for redevelopment.
ecological footprint
The theoretical measurement of the amount of land and water a population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its waste under prevailing technology.
re-urbanisation / gentrification / urban renewal
The development of activities to increase residential population densities within the existing built-up area of a city. This may include the redevelopment of vacant land, the refurbishment of housing and the development of new business enterprises.
suburbanization
The outward growth of towns and cities to engulf surrounding villages and rural areas. This may result from the out-migration of population from the inner urban area to the suburbs or from inward rural–urban movement.
sustainable urban management
An approach to urban management that seeks to maintain and improve the quality of life for current and future urban dwellers. Aspects of management may be social (housing quality, crime), economic (jobs, income) or environmental (air, water, land, resources).
urban sprawl
The unplanned and uncontrolled physical expansion of an urban area into the surrounding countryside. It is closely linked to the process of suburbanization.
civil society
Any organization or movement that works in the area between the household, the private sector and the state to negotiate matters of public concern. Civil societies include non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community groups, trade unions, academic institutions and faith-based organizations.
cultural imperialism
The practice of promoting the culture/language of one nation in another. It is usually the case that the former is a large, economically or militarily powerful nation and the latter is a smaller, less affluent one.
globalisation
“The growing interdependence of countries worldwide through the increasing volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services and of international capital flows, and through the more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology” (source: IMF).
globalisation indices
The AT Kearney Foreign Policy index measures twelve variables, which are subdivided into four “baskets”: economic integration, personal contact, technological connectivity and political engagement. Nations are ranked according to a calculated globalization index.
The KOF index measures three main dimensions of globalization: economic, political and social, and nations are ranked accordingly. It is designed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology on a yearly basis.
glocalisation
A term that was invented to emphasize that the globalization of a product is more likely to succeed when the product or service is adapted specifically to each locality or culture in which it is marketed.
